Thorough measures must be applied to prevent infection at dental clinics

A recent survey shows that sterilization measures are inadequate at many dental clinics. There is an immediate need for thorough measures to prevent the spread of infections at such clinics. Preventative steps are essential to avoid the transmission of viral or bacterial infections when dental instruments, which come into contact with patients’ saliva and blood during treatment, are used to treat other patients. For example, guidelines set by the Japanese Association for Dental Science stipulate that the handles of dental drills must be changed for every patient and sterilized using high-temperature steam as a measure to prevent infection. But in the survey conducted by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, only 34 percent of respondents said that used instruments were always replaced with newly sterilized tools for each patient. Those who said they do not change instruments at all amounted to 17 percent. It is suspected that many dental clinics use the same instruments...